Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Wolfe Stuff

Quebec House, Westerham.
Source: Wikipedia.

Some interesting material connected to James Wolfe and his family will be going on display next month at his childhood home in Westerham, England. Objects on loan to the posthumously-named Quebec House from the related Warde family include the only portrait of him believed to have been painted in his lifetime, and a hand-written book of recipes by his mom Henrietta Wolfe. It also included "his sword", which as of last year was being offered around by the Wardes to a select number of private buyers via one of big auction houses. Notwithstanding the strength of the family's links to the general, this particular sword's provenance proves rather dubious. I take this announcement that the piece will go on display until late 2015 as an indication that potential buyers didn't bite (and a complementary, even more cynical guess would be that the family is hoping to buff up its credentials before offfering it up once again).